


When We Were Young

by xoPrincessKayxo



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: I don't know why I'm putting this out in the world for people to see, Literally this is just because Adele's music messes with my emotions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6413497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xoPrincessKayxo/pseuds/xoPrincessKayxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school reunion AU based on When We Were Young by Adele </p><p>But if by chance you’re here alone, can I have a moment before I go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	When We Were Young

This was a mistake, is the first thought that goes through his head. High school reunions were for people who wanted to show off their success, not someone who was being paid to photograph the event. He’d wanted so badly to say no, but being a photographer wasn’t the most luxurious job in the world, and he desperately needed the money. So when his old high school called and asked if he could work the event, he swallowed his pride and agreed to take pictures of people he hadn’t seen since he was eighteen. 

It started off painlessly enough, old classmates gliding through the room, comparing lifestyles. 

“Your son is on the honor roll? What a coincidence mine was Valedictorian!” 

“You got promoted? I bought a $50, 000 car!” 

He kept as close to the wall as possible, doing his best to blend in with the scenery. Everyone was armed with guns ready to kill with success stories, and he was handing them ammo with each camera flash. A few people had taken notice of him, and he’d had no choice but to exchange forced smiles and “I haven’t seen you in years!” while ignoring their judgmental looks. Working your high school reunion wasn’t the most impressive thing to be doing, but he didn’t have much of a choice. The only highlight of his night had been when a waitress brought him a drink and told him she loves his pictures. It wasn’t much, but it was enough not to regret dropping out of school instead of risking becoming a part of the artificial scene in front of him. 

Just as he was coming to peace with this, someone walked in and turned his life completely upside down. Phil. The first and only person he’d ever loved, that he hadn’t seen since graduation, when he woke up to an empty bed and a note. I love you more than anything, remember that okay? I’m sorry -Phil. Realistically, Dan knew there was a possibility of him being there, but he’d pushed it to the back of his mind, hoping he just wouldn’t see him. He should’ve known how ridiculous that was. Even after all these years, he could still sense his presence the moment he walked into the room. 

High school sweethearts, that’s what they’d been. There was no use skirting around it now. They’d been best friends their entire lives, and everyone around them had bets on when they’d finally realize they were more. It had happened the summer before junior year, slow and subtle, until they’d both fallen, hard and fast, and PJ had to give Chris ten pounds for guessing it right. “You couldn’t have held off just one more month?” he grumbled handing it over. 

And then it was crawling through each other’s bedroom windows in the middle of the night, staying up until 4 AM, sometimes talking, sometimes doing exactly the opposite, and being happier than ever, before things like college applications came in and destroyed it all. The plan had been to apply to all the same schools and go to whichever one they both got into, but Phil had gotten into a school in America, and Dan couldn’t bring himself to hold him back, so he let him go, taking half of his heart with him. Now Phil was the head of an animation company rivaling Don Bluth, and Dan was being paid to take pictures of him. 

The other guests seemed to have taken notice of him, eagerly flocking around to catch glimpses of their resident “celebrity.” Dan watched, taking pictures of Phil in his natural element, smiling and greeting each guest with ease. It didn’t surprise Dan at all-neither of them had ever been popular, but Phil had always been more of a people person, effortlessly drifting from group to group. Dan looked down at the picture, noticing for the first time that Phil was wearing a suit, and was brought back to teaching him to tie his tie the first day of school, and having to fix it everyday after that. He still remembered doing it on prom night, and couldn’t help but smile when he saw Phil’s tie still wasn’t quite right. 

Dan was so wrapped up in his nostalgia he almost didn’t notice someone was standing next to him. 

“Dan?” the voice asked, and suddenly blue eyes were boring into him for the first time in more years than he wanted to count. 

“Hi, Phil. I, uh… Didn’t know you were coming,” Dan answered sheepishly. 

“I wasn’t planning on it, but now I’m kinda glad I did,” Phil admitted, and Dan found the whole situation completely unfair. How was it after all this time, he still looked exactly the same? Same breathtaking blue eyes, and bright, albeit, hesitant, smile? It made Dan want to forget everything and go back to being the lovestruck teenager he once was. This couldn’t be healthy. 

“I am too. So, where’s your date? I’m supposed to get pictures of everyone,” Dan explained after a charged moment. 

“Oh, I didn’t bring a date. Are you a photographer now? You always took really great pictures,” Phil said, and all Dan could do was nod, because Phil was the only person who knew what we really wanted to do with his life, and he never would’ve done it without his encouragement. 

“Do you want a drink? I’m sure there are plenty more photo-ops by the bar than there are standing in a corner. Dan looked down at his camera. He’d taken more than enough pictures to get a decent paycheck. Why the hell not? he decided following Phil to the bar. 

Dan could feel the eyes of everyone there on them as they walked over to the bar and ordered, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. People thought what they wanted about them- they always had. It was awkward at first, questions about jobs and families, but then Dan said something sarcastic and Phil laughed in that way he used to do anything to see, and suddenly they were sixteen and full of hope again, talking and laughing like no time had passed at all. 

The night dragged on with more alcohol than they probably should’ve consumed and cry laughing at each other’s stories, and ended in a mess of tangled limbs barely making it to Phil’s room. Neither of them knew who kissed who or when it was decided they would leave, but neither could bring themselves to care. It was like they’d mutually agreed to go back in time, at least for a night. Afterwords, they lay wrapped up in each other and looking up at glow in the dark stars. The whole scene was so familiar, Dan couldn’t help but reach for his camera and snap a picture of Phil, his features illuminated perfectly in the moonlight. If nothing else, at least he’d have a reminder of this moment, when they were exactly how they used to be, past and future rendered irrelevant. 

The next morning, Dan woke up to find a note, and did his best to suppress the disappointed feeling it gave him. Sorry if this brings back unpleasant memories, but I had to leave early for work and didn’t want to disturb you. Stay as long as you like, and maybe we can talk when I get back? Wifi and computer passwords are on the fridge. -Phil 

Deciding it’d be the most convenient to just stay there and wait, Dan rolled out of bed and went to send the pictures in. He busied himself on the computer for a while, and then gave up pretending to work. He’d raided the kitchen and was putting Phil’s DVD collection ( which unsurprisingly almost exactly mirrored his own) in alphabetical order when the door opened. 

“Dan? Are you still here?” Phil asked walking in. 

“In here,” he called back, and soon enough they were sitting next to each other on the floor, Phil handing him DVDs. It was shocking, really, how quickly they fell back into step with each other, like they’d never been separated at all. 

“I know we can’t exactly pick up where we left off- way too much has happened since then. But I thought maybe we could… Start over? Build something new,” Phil said after they’d put the last DVD on the shelf. 

“… Yes. Yes, of course we can,” Dan answered, a weight he hadn’t even known was there lifting. 

And then they were kissing, slow, soft, and teary eyed. They weren’t high school sweethearts anymore- that bridge had crashed and burned years ago. But somehow they’d managed to keep loving each other all this time, and even though they could never go back to that, they could start something new. It was fragile and broken, old wounds needing to be opened before they could be cleaned and healed, but it was theirs, and they were never going to let it go again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at phanfic ever, so if you enjoyed this thank you so much. I submitted this anonymously on tumblr, but I figured if I was gonna put myself out there, might as well do it here too. Let me know if you enjoyed! Or not, I respect constructive criticism


End file.
